tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post4532754439387139804..comments2024-03-25T02:33:41.590-05:00Comments on FemaleScienceProfessor: There Is No WeFemale Science Professorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-43666962874870956342011-08-08T04:15:04.591-05:002011-08-08T04:15:04.591-05:00"off the top of my head, the post about how a..."off the top of my head, the post about how a grad student who had never published an article told her on meeting for the first time that he had never heard of her and she must not publish much and later the same person applies for the post doc at her lab and gets rejected by her...this is very very hard to believe for me". <br /><br />OMG, a similar thing happened to me... only perhaps worse. An MS student who knew nothing about research started lecturing me on how I should ask NSF for money to support a generic lab in my area. He was clueless. And really frustrated when I wouldn't take his advice. Then, a former PhD student of mine (currently a professor elsewhere) was visiting, and he made an appointment with her and told HER that I didn't know what I was missing by not taking his advice. He applied to the PhD program at both of our universities, and got turned down from both. His arrogance and ignorance was unbelievable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-81890127669956385602011-06-29T15:15:44.825-05:002011-06-29T15:15:44.825-05:00Bah! Secret Sociologist Felines are legion.Bah! Secret Sociologist Felines are legion.Beccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15356974556397009124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-371116215088136152011-06-28T19:14:03.365-05:002011-06-28T19:14:03.365-05:00If a tree falls in a forest and there's no man...If a tree falls in a forest and there's no man there to hear it...does it make a sound?<br /><br />A superior at work told me he believed women actually have an advantage in engineering (I suspect largely because I "stick out", which he thinks is an advantage in that it will get me "noticed"). I didn't argue the case. Not less than five minutes later he was recounting the sexual exploits of a female coworker (which he knows from friends outside of work) as if it was relevant to anything and did not see the conflict that the disrespectful way he recounted it to a group at a work social event was at all inappropriate or demeaning or what role her gender played in him bringing it up at all. <br /><br />The former was fare typical. The latter still has me so pissed I don't know how to channel my anger over the event. I, like anonymous, figure the blog is only "highlights" of the torrential frustrations. I'm sure many of us could write a book on it. That I have to lie through my teeth and say hedging things like "well personally I don't know" when male colleagues ask me point blank questions about sexism or women in the workplace because if I said what I think I'd be ostracized and crowded out. I can be a bitch in pretty much all ways around here, just not a feminist bitch. That's not tolerated.FrauTechhttp://frautech.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-6885739257299720742011-06-28T14:18:48.281-05:002011-06-28T14:18:48.281-05:00Alas, that one was entirely true in all respects, ...Alas, that one was entirely true in all respects, although I don't remember writing that he had no publications; I think he had one. I don't mean to imply that US grad students can't be jerks, but this particular student happened to be from a rather conservative country. I suspected at the time that he didn't really know how to deal with me on a professional level, and the result was offensive to me. Nevertheless, he was willing to overcome his initial suspicion of me when it became clear that I might be useful to him, as I had funding for a postdoc in his area of expertise. I did not, in fact, hire him, and I am still collaborating with the person I did hire. I don't know where the other guy is now; he seems to have left academe or moved into another field entirely.<br /><br />I just found the original<br /><a href="http://science-professor.blogspot.com/2008/07/what-insult.html" rel="nofollow">post</a>.Female Science Professorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-19923790898802350512011-06-28T13:54:58.930-05:002011-06-28T13:54:58.930-05:00I am the anonymous who doubted FSP...some other an...I am the anonymous who doubted FSP...some other anonymous asked for a specific example and I am commenting again...off the top of my head, the post about how a grad student who had never published an article told her on meeting for the first time that he had never heard of her and she must not publish much and later the same person applies for the post doc at her lab and gets rejected by her...this is very very hard to believe for me....speaking from my personal experience of living in many western countries during my studies my general impression of west (both europe and america) so far is that people in general are very polite and nice, I have visited US for a month (this is not long I know) and I only came in contact with non-academic people and still they were very nice and polite....for someone in academic setting for instance in grad school and more importantly in physical sciences where one is supposed to have decent level of intelligence to say something so blatantly rude and on the face while meeting for the very first time is just unbelievable...and most likely not trueAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-31568651519168872032011-06-28T11:45:55.684-05:002011-06-28T11:45:55.684-05:00I'm surprised at the debate whether FSP makes ...I'm surprised at the debate whether FSP makes up stuff. The issue is perceptions of situations - I hope no one thinks she creates stories out of nothing or says she did stuff someone else really did.<br /><br />I've seen many situations in which fact-based people interpret the same actions completely differently, and with some justification.<br /><br />To pick an example, FSP said today that several faculty on an interview schedule told her that the job she was interviewing would be given to someone else, an insider. There are a spectrum of ways that information could be intuited. While commenters are right that it is unlikely multiple people would state, unprompted, that the job search is a sham, a perceptive interviewee could sometimes guess the likely outcome.<br /><br />To over-generalize, the more FSP offers a personal interpretation of subtle and ambiguous notable situations, the more people who focus on other aspects of conversations or are just insensitive will become convinced the incidents are fiction.John Vidalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09871768524749705799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-54864898282008824922011-06-28T08:53:59.023-05:002011-06-28T08:53:59.023-05:00"While every individual story could be reason..."While every individual story could be reasonable, 100% of my female friends (sample of roughly 6-8) agreed that there is no way this could happen to a single person with such frequency."<br /><br />I don't know what field you're in.. but I am a female junior engineering faculty member and MORE stuff happens to me in a week than FSP writes about. Actually, I was thinking that the same stuff must happen to her every week but she carefully selects the most important issue to her of that day.<br /><br />I do admire that she has the time to write and can generalize things in such a way as to engage the community in an intelligent discussion. I tried to write a to-be blog this past month, and it just came out as incessant "why me?" ranting (which I doubt anyone would be interested in and would just bait multitudes of hatemail). I give up and that blog won't see the light of day.. hail to FSP, the Queen!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-60262689769954376762011-06-27T23:16:56.847-05:002011-06-27T23:16:56.847-05:00Conspiracy theorist must (a) type slowly and (b) h...Conspiracy theorist must (a) type slowly and (b) have never met a literate scientist, one that can compose sentences that make sense without copying it from somewhere or hiring an editor. <br /><br />I have no trouble believing this is real because there are bloggers out there who can write circles around most of us, FSP included, while also grading mass quantities of undergrad English papers. <br /><br />And stories? The un-bloggable stuff I could write about would blow your mind. I can think of two that I would not believe if I hadn't see it myself. I consider most of the FSP incidents to be run-of-the-mill daily events in academia.Doctor Pionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12513786840852469648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-16367582260261999922011-06-27T22:58:06.542-05:002011-06-27T22:58:06.542-05:00Even if FSP didn't write these 'stories...Even if FSP didn't write these 'stories', many of us FSPs can tell the same tales. If we are talking about the 'stories' about sexism, these are real to many of us. I also prefer to call them experiences. It's nice that the letter-writer has some female colleagues who don't have these experiences, but many of us do, and that doesn't make them fiction.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-55983975226962721392011-06-27T20:35:55.217-05:002011-06-27T20:35:55.217-05:00People who notice, reflect, and think clearly can ...People who notice, reflect, and think clearly can write clearly with very little additional effort. People who do these things also become aggregaters of the social experiences of others. FSP is very clear when she is recounting a first-person experience or a story that has been shared with her. As an early career FSP I have experienced many similar stories. I see no reason to suspect any collusion.Christie Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17131186132737346311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-65366092971623050002011-06-27T18:13:03.317-05:002011-06-27T18:13:03.317-05:00I am the "conspiracy theorist" sending t...I am the "conspiracy theorist" sending the email. So let me start with a few remarks.<br />1) the excerpt was not the main subject of my email, and I never meant to start the public discussion. Indeed, if my theory was true, I did not want to "blow the FSP cover". As I said, my (private) remark was very complimentary and I really enjoy the blog.<br />2) I am a male mid-career Prof. at a top-20 school. Post anonymously ONLY because I want to avoid unwarranted personal attacks.<br />3) I agree with FSP that women are frequently treated unfairly in various situations, and it is a noble and worthy effort to work towards the change.<br /><br />To come back to my conspiracy theory, I have quite a few female professor friends, and I talked to them extensively about their experiences. In particular, I pointed them to FSP blog and asked to assess how realistic it is. While every individual story could be reasonable, 100% of my female friends (sample of roughly 6-8) agreed that there is no way this could happen to a single person with such frequency. We roughly compared the blog to "ER": too many "textbook" cases which are extremely unlikely in real life.<br /><br />So please don't interpret my opinion as me not supporting the FSP's cause, I just do not think all stories happened to FSP. I.e., either (a) they happened to many different people and FSP collected the stories (perhaps, embellishing them slightly); or (b) FSP made most of them up for an exciting discussion; or (c) my conspiracy theory is true.<br /><br />If I am wrong, even better :).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-20430779039129355852011-06-27T18:10:23.897-05:002011-06-27T18:10:23.897-05:00Hahahaha! I only wish I could write blog posts as ...Hahahaha! I only wish I could write blog posts as polished and prolific as yours.Namneziahttp://scientopia.org/blogs/bridgeblog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-30440683714043764732011-06-27T16:39:01.819-05:002011-06-27T16:39:01.819-05:00I work >... does not take anywhere near 2 hours...<i>I work >... does not take anywhere near 2 hours/day.</i><br /><br />Of course, you must mull over (rejecting most) possible topics, check for emails about new comments, write your comments on comments, leave space in your schedule to post each evening, as well as writing the 400 words. Perhaps trade a few emails about the blogs with those who know who you are. Respond personally to some emails like the topic of this blog.<br /><br />Plus some overhead for mechanics of the blogger site, classifying and sorting blog entries, self-publishing that excellent book.<br /><br />A great service, and one that must use considerable energy, no matter your multi-tasking efficiency.John Vidalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09871768524749705799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-16995527648684631412011-06-27T16:36:19.009-05:002011-06-27T16:36:19.009-05:00That's hilarious!
I can probably write a scr...That's hilarious! <br /><br />I can probably write a script to prove all of your posts are written by the same person. Open source, of course, lest anyone thinks that's a seekri NSF project too.Female Computer Scientisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16445505185253882833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-83746727534606429282011-06-27T16:20:22.974-05:002011-06-27T16:20:22.974-05:00We'll know FSP is borrowing her stories when a...We'll know FSP is borrowing her stories when a post begins "This one time, at band camp..."Alexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-79809314665689083462011-06-27T16:14:40.420-05:002011-06-27T16:14:40.420-05:00Yes, I do agree, NSF should give a grant to you. T...Yes, I do agree, NSF should give a grant to you. This PhD student in computer eng. enjoys reading your blog and learns a ton from it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-30591837561879799282011-06-27T16:05:28.977-05:002011-06-27T16:05:28.977-05:00Can a doubter give a specific example of something...Can a doubter give a specific example of something they did not believe?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-64141970250092960272011-06-27T15:47:03.715-05:002011-06-27T15:47:03.715-05:00Yes, I too am wondering which parts can't be r...Yes, I too am wondering which parts can't be real if not experienced by a male professor (in any country). Could it be the experiences of sexism?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-78384693176887806482011-06-27T15:46:16.068-05:002011-06-27T15:46:16.068-05:00I guess that proves it right there: if it doesn...I guess that proves it right there: if it doesn't happen to a male professor, it doesn't happen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-46859980322887360202011-06-27T15:39:04.340-05:002011-06-27T15:39:04.340-05:00I also think your stories are not all real .....I ...I also think your stories are not all real .....I am sorry but I am speaking from my experience with my supervisor...he is well known in his field, is in science for almost 20 years, has many high level pubs including a few pioneering works, also travels a lot, does reviewing, editing and stuff, works 12 hours a day six days a week at least, has a few collaborations, and he has already told me same stories multiple times...from what I have gathered from reading your blogs, you are in the same situation as my supervisor but you seem to have order of magnitude more stories than my supervisor....so I find it hard to believe....or maybe that's the difference between the US and other countries, people there have more life experiences....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-74457059796896641852011-06-27T14:58:02.254-05:002011-06-27T14:58:02.254-05:00I agree that the writing is consistently excellent...I agree that the writing is consistently excellent. I have no problem believing the anecdotes all derive from one individual's experiences. I know that I could not find time to maintain such a blog, but we all have different talents and priorities (and I truly envy those like FSP who can obviously compose rapidly and well).<br /><br />What I have wanted to know for some time, and am now even more curious about ... just how many cats do you have?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-90729299599396698782011-06-27T14:57:13.549-05:002011-06-27T14:57:13.549-05:00My cats definitely do grant proposals.
I have nev...My cats definitely do grant proposals.<br /><br />I have never written 3 manuscripts in a day (but we joke about it in my group).<br /><br />I work > 40 hours for week (typically 60ish), but have no set time for blogging. It sort of fills the gaps, but does not take anywhere near 2 hours/day.<br /><br />Perhaps I multi-task too much some times..Female Science Professorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-42814823949263110082011-06-27T13:57:46.035-05:002011-06-27T13:57:46.035-05:00I am a former student of FSP. It is not hard to be...I am a former student of FSP. It is not hard to believe she runs the blog by herself. She always has her nose in the computer. I found it particularly rude when she was checking emails during group meetings (for all I know she could have been blogging). That being said, FSP was a great adviser!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-18740947198017226382011-06-27T13:26:22.445-05:002011-06-27T13:26:22.445-05:00It would be funny if FSP turned out to be neither ...It would be funny if FSP turned out to be neither senior, female, nor a prof. Much like quite a number of anonymous bloggers have turned out to be fiction writers.<br /><br />From writing a much more turgid blog for a while, I'm fairly confident it takes more than an hour, more likely two hours, to write a daily blog and manage the comments. So the blog is a big time commitment, even if it not written by a nefarious committee.John Vidalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09871768524749705799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-33955287871692227652011-06-27T12:31:54.916-05:002011-06-27T12:31:54.916-05:00I agree your writing is excellent. I wish I could ...I agree your writing is excellent. I wish I could write so well. I also wish that I lived in the fantasy world of the e-mailer - the world in which it is impossible for one woman in academia to experience as many s--tty things as you face and write about.Barefoot Doctoralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03116876526923906034noreply@blogger.com